


Through the Clouds

by Hummingbird1759



Category: Mathnet
Genre: 9/11, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, I know y'all ship these two, Post-Canon, September 11 Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:28:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27088624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hummingbird1759/pseuds/Hummingbird1759
Summary: On one of the darkest days in American history, a light finds George.
Relationships: George Frankly/Kate Monday
Kudos: 1





	Through the Clouds

It was night when he finally got back to his apartment and sank onto the couch. This was, without question, the worst day of his life. Terrorists had turned the World Trade Center into a smoking pile of rubble, killing thousands of civilians and a yet-untold number of his brothers and sisters in the NYPD and NYFD. His home had been attacked, and life would never be the same again.

He realized with a start that New York _was_ his home; in fact, it had been for a long time. Yes, he caught every Dodgers game, and yes, he missed watching the sun set over the ocean, but he took the subway and got annoyed with tourists like any native, he knew where all the best dirty water hot dogs were, and he even cheered for the Knicks once in awhile – as long as they weren’t playing the Lakers, of course.

He was on the opposite side of the continent from where he’d been born and raised, but he truly belonged here, something he’d never imagined when he’d boarded that plane at LAX all those years ago. Kate and Martha had both gone back to Los Angeles, but he stayed. He’d never been able to articulate why, but somehow, going back had never felt like an option to him.

And on this day, this horrific day full of smoke and ash and death that still had the unmitigated gall to be sunny and warm, he did something he hadn’t done in years.

He cried.

He couldn’t say how long it took him to finally stop, but when he did, he noticed the light on his answering machine.

George was probably the only New Yorker surprised that someone had called him that day. He’d phoned his brother before he left work that night, his parents were long deceased and his ex-wife… well, the less said about her, the better. He’d seen most of his friends at work that day – Mathnet had been sent to Ground Zero to triangulate locations of casualties and calculate the trajectory of falling debris to keep civilians safe. 

He didn’t want to think about the friends he hadn’t seen.

He wondered if the message was from Pat; she hadn’t heard from her firefighter husband all day and maybe she’d called to say he was all right. He hit Play, and the sound of the voice on the machine felt like a punch in the chest.

“Hi George… it’s Kate. Um… I just… I saw the news… please let me know you’re okay. My number is 213-555-6284. Please call me when you can… I’m worried.”

He’d last heard her voice ten years ago, when she told him she was returning to LA. He knew why, even though she wouldn’t tell him. As he’d so often told her, he didn’t get into Mathnet on his looks.

Hands shaking, he picked up the phone and dialed her number. The phone barely had a chance to ring before she picked up.

“Hello?”

“H-hi, Kate? It’s George.”

“George? Thank Gosh, I’ve been worried sick! I’ve been watching the news all day… it’s just…”

“Yeah,” he said grimly. “It’s… I can’t talk about it right now.”

“Understood,” she replied in that cool professional tone he used to admire. She sucked in a breath and continued, “Benny and Captain Greco – are they okay?”

“Both fine,” George said, and heard her murmur of relief. “Today’s Benny’s day off, so he was at home when the towers got hit. Greco was still working the scene when I left two hours ago; hopefully someone’s convinced him to go home by now.”

“And Martha?” She asked warily.

“I, uh, wouldn’t know. She’s been back in LA since ’96.”

“George, I’m so sorry. If I’d known, I…”

“I should have told you. I should have told you a lot of things,” he said, trying to stop his voice from cracking. He paused, took a deep inhale and continued shakily, “I’m glad to hear your voice. It’s the only good thing that’s happened to me today.”

“I’m glad to hear yours too,” she said, and he wondered if she was struggling to keep it together as much as he was. “Is it true what they’ve been saying? About how many cops and firefighters are missing?”

He swallowed hard and forced his mind away from the grisly scenes downtown. “I don’t know what they’ve been saying… but whatever they’ve said, the truth is probably worse.”

They were both silent for a moment, and then she declared, “George, I’m coming to see you.”

“What? Now?”

“Don’t tempt me, Pard,” she said with a smile. “Unfortunately, Los Angeles is 2800 miles from New York City, so even if I drove 80 miles per hour the entire way, it would still take me 35 hours. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t get away with going AWOL for the rest of the week.”

“Oh,” he said, surprised at how disappointed he felt. “Uh… then when?”

“How about next month? Hopefully I’ll be able to get a flight by then.”

“I… yes. Yes, that’d be great,” he stammered.

* * *

A month later, he stood at the La Guardia baggage claim anxiously awaiting her. Would he recognize her? Would she recognize him? It had been so many years; what if they didn’t get along anymore? What if this was all just a big mistake? What if…

“Hi Pard,” she said, and George whirled around to see Kate grinning at him. Her hair was now shot with silver and she had laugh lines around her mouth, but he’d have known that smile anywhere. 

“Hi Pard,” he replied, and leaned down to hug her. “I missed you.”

She returned the embrace, and after they broke apart, said, “I missed you too, Pard… although I guess I can’t call you that anymore.”

“I don’t think Pat will mind. I’d love to introduce you to her, but she’s on leave until her husband goes back to work.”

After retrieving her luggage, Kate asked, “So, what do you want to do today?”

“How about the Museum of Calculation?”

“I’d love to. New York, New York…”

“It’s a wonderful town,” George said, and they walked off arm in arm.

**Author's Note:**

> Not your typical Mathnet fic, but this plot bunny wouldn’t leave me alone. The first fanfics I ever wrote were Mathnet fics – back in the pre-internet days – and I guess old habits die hard.


End file.
